Paraceratherium
: "A 12-ton giant. She is an Indricotherium." : — Allen, about Indricotherium Indricotherium (or Paraceratherium ''and ''Baluchitherium), also known as The Giant-Giraffe Rhinoceros, was a genus of large mammal which lived during the Oligocene period. Indricotherium was the largest land animal of all time, of any kind. Essentially it was a giant Rhino, looking for all the world like a rhino trying to be a giraffe, hence it's nick-name "The Giant-Giraffe Rhinoceros". Facts Time/Era/Period Indricotherium lived during the Oligocene period from 25-20 million years ago. It shared its environment with animals like ''Bear dogs'', Chalicotherium, ''Entelodont'', and ''Hyaenodon''. Size/Description Indricotherium was not only the largest land mammal in its environment, but it was the largest mammalian land animal that ever lived on the Planet Earth. Despite their appearance, Indricotherium were early relatives of rhinos, but their size was of a different league. A fully gown male stood over 7 meters tall, taller than an adult giraffe, and weighed in at 15 tons, which is equivalent to 8 modern rhinos, heavier than an adult elephant. Females were smaller, weighing at 12 tons. Indricotherium could have also easily lived into their eighties, and this longevity gave them a unique knowledge of their environment. Behavior When female Indricotheriums were faced with danger and predators tried to get their babies, the mothers desperately tried to keep their babies between their legs so they could defend them with powerful kicks. When newborns calves arrived, they already weighed a quarter of a ton, and their legs wouldn't be used to bearing any weight at all, so they'd spend the rest of the morning learning how to walk. New born calves also had food on their minds. It was the beginning of the most vulnerable period in their lives. They were totally dependent on their mothers for at least three years. They needed their mother's protection, and for their first years in life, they also relied on their mother's milk. This was an astonishingly long commitment for any mother Indricotherium, but if their calves just survived for that long, their size meant that there would not be a single predator on Earth that could touch them. Indricotherium calves were off their mother's milk when they were about a year of age. When it came to mating, adult male Indricotheriums often got into fights and their skulls were specially built to withstand these contests. But when the fights were over, calves were at serious risk–the biggest threat to an Indricotherium is an adult male. During mating, calves could get trampled to death. As Intrichotherium calves reached three years old, they weighed over a ton. When female Indricotherium had a calf, and at some point in their previous calf's life when they reached three years old, their mothers behaved awkwardly towards their calves…but the female were only doing what they had to do. They chased their previous calves away. Female Indricotheriums can have as many as three calves in their lives. So to give their next, unborn calf or calves the best chance in life, they must sever the three–year–old bond they had with their previous calves. For those calves, it was time for them to make their own way in the world. Because the mothers had another calf and to that new-born calf and to her, their previous calves were now just a threat. And because of that, even if the previous calf was injured and their mothers were the only safety they knew, those previous calves would't never again have the protection of their mothers. The rest of their lives, they would spend alone. This was the hardest lesson of all, but when calves lived to four years old, they were big enough to look after themselves. Gallery 026.jpg 029.jpg 1000px-WWB1x3_3IndricotheriumTravel.jpg 1000px-WWB1x3_IndricotheriumScaresOffCalf.jpg Evi_indricothere_large.jpg Category:Prehistoric Animals Category:Mammals Category:Oligocene Animals Category:Oligocene Mammals Category:Beasts (Life After Dinosaurs) Category:Rhinos